


Red Dwarf / Words

by AJForce



Category: Red Dwarf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 00:51:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13602063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AJForce/pseuds/AJForce
Summary: A collection of Drabbles and one-hundred words. Based on the classic sit-com Red Dwarf





	1. The meaning of Christmas

100 words

"Lister?"

"Mmm?"

"What is the meaning of Christmas?"  
The scouser looks at his hologramtic friend. "The meaning of Christmas can mean many things, such as; spending time with family and friends, eating until you can't move-"

"You do that very well."

"Thanks, it also means giving and receiving presents for one another, making huge efforts to decorate a tree."

"Lister?"

"Yeah?"

"Please make Christmas happen aboard Red Dwarf." He faces Lister, his serious expression showing no signs of him joking. 

"It will happen, that's the one thing I can promise you. I won't let you down."

"Lister?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you.”


	2. Thoughts

Lister lays awake, his mud-brown eyes drawn to carvings in the metal ceiling of his bunk. 'K+L' with a heart drawn around it still barely visible. The rest had been filled in with dust making them less noticeable than what they were years ago.

Adjusting his position he moves slightly to view the digital clock, it read out '3:30am' he couldn't care less about sleeping. Not with it being near the date that he and Kochanski split at, it just haunts him through his dreams and is no better during the day.

Rimmer wasn't much help either, demanding orders and for things to be 'neat' and 'tidily put away' into their 'correct places' to Lister those words meant nothing. But, surely he could leave his clothes on the floor, after all Rimmer could easily step through anything and be stepped through. 

This is where Lister had a upper hand on Rimmer, Rimmer was a hologram. A hologram that can't pick anything up and is practically useless for any handy work. Unless of course he got the skutters.

Lister leans over his bunk looking at the hologram, his eyes closed and hands resting on his stomach. The blue cloth rising and falling with every unneeded breath. He looked peaceful for the first time ever Lister thought, it was strange Rimmer can be such a smeghead at times but the other times he tries and does his best. 

And maybe, just maybe Lister could cope with him being a smeghead after all...


	3. The Needed Words

Lister's eyes stung as silent tears ran down his cheeks. His hands held the remains of what was Rimmer's light-bee in his hands, the explosion and pained screams still echoed in his ears. Metal and glass scattered around the cockpit of Starbug, as two hands placed themselves on either side of Lister's shoulders. 

Only the distance humming of the Bug's engine was all that was heard, the occasional sound of Kryten's joints locking up and him freeing them. "We're back buds." Cat says softly landing Starbug, immediately leaving once he'd switched off the engine.

Kryten stays put his neon blue eyes looking at the scouser who sat spaced out, tear marks standing his cheeks. He had stopped crying a long time ago, Kryten wasn't sure weather it was a bad or good thing that Mr Lister was quiet. "Sir, if I may.." he paused "Do you want to be left alone Mr. Lister?" 

"I don't know what I want Kryts. There's no bringing him back now is there?" Lister smiled hopefully for a few seconds then dropped the smile when he got no response from his mechanoid friend. "Go in ahead, I'll be alright. I just need time to think." Lister waved his arm in the direction of the door. 

The heavy footsteps against the floor echoed faintly as he got further away from the cockpit. Lister looked down at the box that held Rimmer's light bee in several pieces. His tears threatened to come back. They didn't. Instead nothing ness. It was better than anything Lister concluded as he ran his thumb over the sharp edges of one side of the bee. "This isn't fair man, I'm going to try and get you back..."

"I believe you.."


	4. Midnight Terrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cat has a nightmare.

The Cat's face wrinkles up. His face shows various expressions all showing signs of discomfort. Mumbled words pass his lips into the void of nothingness. Again his face twists into ridiculous emotions, a tear escapes his eyes that are clenched shut. His body begins to twitch, trying to wake him up. Finally his mumbled words turn into words that are only barely audible, at last for definite this time words, fluent in English and no longer gibberish, began falling from his mouth. It abruptly ends. Ends with screaming. 

Cat wakes up covered in sweat still screaming. His brown eyes open, tears stain his cheeks as he sits up, his silk pyjamas sticking to him. He swallows hard, as if he was a child taking a pill for the first time. Cat looks at the clock '3:47am' it was morning, but too late to get up at. After this he didn't much feel like going to sleep anyway, he'd just have to alter his schedule and add one extra nap before his main nap. Adjusting his position he tries freeing himself from the pyjama prison that had tried to devourer him, if he wasn't going to go to sleep he may as well get up and iron his shirt. Or he would've, if it wasn't for Kryten.

Heavy footsteps came to a halt outside Cat's quarters. Great, just great this was all he needed. He managed to slow his breathing enough to give the impression of false sleeping, not moving either. Then a robotic voice came "Mr. Cat sir, is that you screaming?" Kryten remained outside of the room much to his dismay. 

But no one knew that secretly, Cat wanted to be comforted, by anyone. To tell him it's going to okay and that the dreams he was having were never going to come true. Mostly due to the fact they're three million years into deep space rather than him imagining it or Lister ever finding out re-enacting it just for 'fun'. 

Cat held in a breath as his pointy ears pick up the sound of the door's quiet hiss, signalling it was about to be opened. How could he of been so stupid and forgotten to lock the door. "Lock" he said, hoping that the voice command would pick up his voice. There was another hiss as the door slid open and neatly slotted back into its original position, Kryten walked in. 

"What'd you want?" Cat spoke with a flat voice, his back facing the mechanoid. He wanted to be left alone, or at least that's what he kept telling himself. Maybe if he said it just enough he'd start to believe it. Before he even had chance a chair was pulled up, no lights were on but that was no problem for Kryten.

"My apologies Mr. Cat, I heard screaming." The Mech sat down on the wooden chair with a noise that sounded as if the chair had cracked. He ignored it. His friend was more important than the chair. Kryten got no response from Cat and decided a different approach would be best, it could go one of two ways. One being the cat testing to attack him, the second just having insults thrown at him. Either way he was prepared.

Cat felt the bed dip by his waist, quite a lot. He lets out a 'growl' from under his breath as a cool but soft, silicone hand found itself on his arm. He didn’t move, instead he appreciated the gesture and slowly fell back to sleep.

Kryten didn’t return to his duties until he heard soft deep breathing.


End file.
